Tom Ruegger (born 4 April 1956 Plainfield, New Jersey USA) is an American animation writer, producer, director, and former chairman of the Warner Bros Animation. In the 1980s, he worked for Hanna-Barbera, writing and/or producing various shows, most notably Yogi's Treasure Hunt, The Snorks, The 13 Ghosts of Scooby-Doo, Pound Puppies, Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo and A Pup Named Scooby-Doo. But he is most famous as a producer, writer, show-runner and show-creator for Warner Bros. cartoons from 1989-2001, including Tiny Toon Adventures, Animaniacs, Pinky and the Brain, Batman: The Animated Series, Freakazoid, Road Rovers and Histeria!.

In 2004, he started Tom Ruegger Production as a full service animation studio. In 2006, Ruegger began developing, story-editing and serving as Executive Producer on a new 40-episode animated series Animalia (2007), based on the picture book by Graeme Base. Along with Nicholas Hollander, he developed and story-edited another animated series entitled Sushi Pack (2007).

He has three sons: Nathan Ruegger (the voice of the baby version of Plucky Duck on Tiny Toon Adventures, Skippy Squirrel on Animaniacs and Froggo on Histeria!), Luke Ruegger (the voice of the Flame on Animaniacs and Big Fat Baby on Histeria!) and Cody Ruegger (the voice of Little Blue Bird on Animaniacs and Loud Kiddington on Histeria!, the latter of whom he was also the inspiration to), who were the inspiration for Yakko, Wakko and Dot, the stars of Animaniacs .

Tom Ruegger is the fourteen-time Emmy-winning producer and creative force behind many of the most popular and successful animated television series of all time, including "Tiny Toon Adventures," "Animaniacs," and "Pinky and the Brain," to name only a few. Over the last decade, Mr. Ruegger served as the Executive Producer and chief creative executive at Warner Bros. Animation. In 2002, he started his own company, Tom Ruegger Productions, and under its banner, Tom has been involved in the development, writing and production of multiple televisions series and feature films, both animated and live action. These new works include "Animalia" for PorchLight and PBS, as well as a new animated series for Disney. Mr. Ruegger began his career as an animator at Hanna-Barbera Productions, under the mentor-ship of his childhood heroes, Bill Hanna and Joe Barbera. Tom's early animation efforts appeared in such familiar cartoon series as "Scooby Doo," "The New Flintstones," "Casper" and "Godzilla." Tom honed his writing skills at Filmation Studios under the guidance of Arthur Nadel and Lou Scheimer, on such series as "Black Star" and "Tarzan," then returned to Hanna-Barbera to serve as a story editor and producer for a variety of shows, including "Pound Puppies" and "Scooby and Scrappy Doo." In 1988, Tom created and produced a new Scooby franchise, "A Pup Named Scooby Doo," which was the first Scooby series to be nominated for an Emmy Award. Tom joined Warner Bros. Animation in 1989 to head up production of "Steven Spielberg presents Tiny Toon Adventures." Thus began a decade-long creative collaboration between Mr. Spielberg and Mr. Ruegger that spanned five enormously successful series resulting in ratings success, a worldwide fan base, and over 30 Emmy Awards victories in numerous categories. With the success of "Tiny Toons," Warner Bros. Animation began its second "Golden Age," and Mr. Ruegger became chief creative executive of the company. Along with Jean MacCurdy, Tom executive-produced the studio's next major productions: the "Taz-Mania" series, starring the Tasmanian Devil; and "Batman: the Animated Series," a cartoon-noir take on the dark knight that premiered to rave reviews and strong numbers. At the same time, Mr. Ruegger continued his collaboration with Mr. Spielberg by creating a cast of breakout characters and a new franchise entitled "Animaniacs." This "hellzapoppin'" cartoon show, starring zany siblings Yakko, Wakko and Dot Warner, premiered on "Fox Kids," and it became the comedy template for the animation industry for a number of years - every studio wanted its own "Animaniacs." The series went on to win multiple Emmys as well as the prestigious George Foster Peabody Award for Outstanding Achievement in Animation Programming. As the creator of "Animaniacs," Mr. Ruegger was the show's senior producer, and served as a story editor, writer and lyricist on the series. Mr. Ruegger has gone on to create and produce a number of other acclaimed series as well. These include: "Pinky and the Brain" This animated series stars two lab mice, one a dim bulb, the other a megalomaniac bent on global domination. Tom created this odd duo during the development of "Animaniacs," and the two mice proved so popular that they were spun off into their own prime time series on the WB. Tom served as the senior producer of this award-winning series, as well as a writer, story editor and lyricist. "Freakazoid" This animated series follows the adventures of teenage nerd Dexter Douglas, who is swept into cyberspace and transformed into the world's wildest superhero, Freakazoid. Tom co-created this Emmy-winning series for Steven Speilberg, and served as producer, story editor and lyricist. "Histeria!" This cartoon comedy follows an eccentric cast, including Father Time, Big Fat Baby, Loud Kiddington and Charity Bazaar, as they travel through time and interact with key historic figures along the way. Tom created, wrote, and executive-produced the series. "Road Rovers" Tom created this animated adventure comedy starring a team of superhero canines. "Wakko's Wish" (2000) Tom co-wrote, produced and directed this animated feature film featuring the "Animaniacs" cast. "Batman: Mask of the Phantasm" Tom executive-produced this feature film. Tom grew up in Metuchen, New Jersey, and attended Metuchen High School, where he served as Student Council President, co-captain of his school's football and track teams, and editorial cartoonist for the high school newspaper. Tom attended Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, and graduated cum laude with a bachelor's degree in English. At Dartmouth, Tom served as the director of the Dartmouth Film Society, the nation's first and oldest college film society. In his junior year at Dartmouth, Tom received a grant from the Arthur and Lillie Mayer Foundation to create an animated film. This 10-minute film, "The Premiere of Platypus Duck," was the beginning of Tom's steps toward a film career and, especially, a greater understanding of animation. Before graduation, Tom received the Marcus Heiman Award, Dartmouth College's highest honor for creative achievement. Currently, Tom serves on the board of directors for the Hopkins Center and Hood Museum, which are the film/theater/arts centers at Dartmouth College. Tom is a member of the Writers Guild and the Screen Cartoonist Guild. He lives in Calabasas, California, with his three sons, Nathan, Luke and Cody. In 2003 and 2004, Tom co-wrote the pilot and served as a script editor of the Emmy Award-winning animated series "Tutenstein" for Porchlight Pictures. In 2005, Tom began work as producer and story editor of a new CGI animated series entitled "Animalia" for PorchLight Entertainment and Burberry Production. The series is scheduled for a fall 2007 premiere on the BBC, PBS and Australia-10. Tom, along with partners Nicholas Hollander and Mark Seidenberg, is currently developing a new animated series for the Walt Disney Company.